What Is a Fire Pit And What Is a Fire Pit Used For?

Outdoor relaxation and entertainment in the evening can be quite chilly but thanks to fire pits, outdoor living just became much more exciting and fun.

So What Is A Fire Pit?

A fire pit can be defined as a pit in the ground surface or a free standing vessel in which fire is made and contained. Fire pits can either be an indoor fire pit or an outdoor fire pit. Indoor or outdoor fire pits can either be permanent or portable.

Indoor fire pits are mostly permanent meaning they they are usually on a free standing vessel that is permanently fixed on the ground and cannot be moved around while outdoor fire pits can be either. So basically fire pits can either be;

Permanent fire pits– these are constructed by first digging into the ground or permanently constructed vessels that can’t be moved around because they have a permanent fixture. Permanent fire pits are made from various materials from stones,masonry blocks to concrete.

Portable fire pits– can be moved from place to place. There is no shortage of materials for making portable fire pits such as wood, metals,ceramic and slate but the most preferred for portable fire pits are light weight metals such as stainless steel.

What Is a Fire Pit Used For?

There is a reason why there are many manufacturers of fire pits with new entrants and new designs coming up daily. Because fire pits are becoming very popular in homes and this fire fire pit trend will only keep rising.

So what is a fire pit used and good for?

1. Well, the most obvious function of a fire pit is to provide warmth.

Fire pit are increasingly becoming a popular complimentary heat source to outdoor heaters or altogether an alternative to outdoor heaters and and fireplaces.

2. Cooking

With the right fire pit you can be able to roast those marshmallows while enjoying the warmth of your fire pit. However, not all fire pits can be used for cooking so you have to be sure yours can before you go roasting and spilling oils on it and end up with a pile of mess.

3. For accessorizing your patio and a landscaping addition

Instead of just having chairs and a table on your patio, a fire pit would make a great addition to any outdoor space by adding that ambiance and glow that would otherwise be lacking. When it comes to the backyard, the landscape greatly improves with a with a fire pit in it making it more stylish.

You get to style your outdoor living space in a way that sets you apart from others by creating a centerpiece that is unique, different and stylish.

4. Used as an alternative to campfires

One of the reasons fire pits came to be I believe is so that they could be an alternative to campfires. Not only is it safer for people and property to use a fire pit rather than a campfire, but a CSA approved fire pits provide safe an option to still enjoy the fire in sites with open fire bans and restrictions.

And if you would rather do without the stress and hassle of building a fire from scratch as you would with a campfire, you get the option of a gas fire pit which is as easy as turning on a switch.

And not mention how portable fire pits allow you to carry you campfire with you wherever you want to go. You simply grab and take the party with you.

5. Showing love and support to favorite colleges and teams with collegiate fire pits

Yeah! There are actually fire pits that are mainly made for the purpose of showing support to your favorite team and/or college during those tailgating nights and outdoor parties.

These collegiate fire pits feature the team or college logo or initials cut into the fire pit so instead of an ordinary fire pit, you get a fire pit that tells of who you are affiliated to. There are plenty of collegiate fire pits so there is no reason why you shouldn’t get one. More on these college themed fire pits you can read here

6. Improving the outdoor living experience

You get to bring the indoor life outside with for a cozy ambience with friends a family.

7. Incorporating it into other outdoor features

Thanks to technology, fire pits today can be incorporated into other outdoor features such as pergolas, gazebos and even swimming pools in a completely safe manner.

This is in the case of permanent fire pits. Pictures above, don’t you think the value of those properties on which those structures sit increased even just a little as result?

So you see why fire pits are popular?

What Are The Fire Pit Fuel Options?

Fire pits burn mainly on propane, wood, natural gas and gel.

Propane Fire Pits

These types of gas fire pits are the most popular because of their easy maintenance and usability. Starting a fire is as simple as turning the knob on to create fire and off to extinguish the fire and afterwards one does not have to worry about disposing messy ash residue because it burns cleanly.

To make the fire pit look more realistic and natural, gas fire are filled with fire pit glass, fire beads, fire rocks or ceramic logs.

Also flying embers and sparks that could cause injury and start fires are not an issue with propane fire pits.

On the downside your gas could run out in the middle of entertainment cutting it short abruptly which can be quite a bummer not to mention refilling propane gas regularly can turn out to be more expensive than the other fuel types.

Wood Burning Fire Pits

Wood burning fire pits are also popular especially among those who love the crackling of firewood and the smell of burning wood.

Running a wood burning fire pit tends to be cheaper than running a propane fire pit because with just the right tree logs you get quite some heat that burns for long.which you could buy in bulk to go several months.

The major downside is You will however be required to build your fire from scratch and regularly dispose the ash residue.

Also, depending on the wood type you may need to keep adding a steady supply of firewood to keep the flames going.

With wood burning fire pits there is always the threat of flying embers. In order to protect the immediate environment from flying embers, it is important to use a fire pit screen cover to ensure no embers escape.

Natural Gas Fire Pits

Fire pits that utilize this kind of fuel are permanent in nature.
Natural gas is fed to the fire pit by use of gas lines connected to homes.The cost of installing the fire pit and the gas line can be expensive but once that is done the cost of running a natural gas fire pit is the cheapest and most economical in the long run than the other types of fire pits.

However, to produce the same flame as say, a propane fire pit a natural gas fire pit would have to supply to supply more gas flow which means it’s a less energy efficient gas.

The major advantage that these type of gas fire pits have over other fire pits is that one will never have to worry about running out of gas in the middle of entertainment.

Gel Fire pits

Gel fire pits burn cleanly and are smoke and smell free. You simply light the gel fuel to ignite the fire and the flames die out when all the fuel is consumed.

These type of fire pits are not very common and the flames produced do not produce as much heat as the other fire pits.

Fire pits come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, designs/styles and as mentioned earlier materials. There is essentially no style or design that you can think of in a fire pits that is not viable. So if you are thinking of getting a fire pit, first do your research because there is plenty to chose from.

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2 Comments Already

Johnathan Tarter-October 11th, 2015 at 1:20 amnone
Comment author #39 on What Is a Fire Pit And What Is a Fire Pit Used For? by OUTDOOR FIRE PITS & FIRE PIT DESIGNS

This is a very informative and helpful post about outdoor fire pits! Personally, I prefer the propane fire pits because of the reasons listed in that section! I am constantly using that type of fire pit and it is very pleasing to me and my friends but I am sure the others aren’t that bad either. I might try them out someday. Thank you for the information!